Rare martian lake delta spotted by Mars Express

Rare martian lake delta spotted by Mars Express
via the European Space Agency


“ESA’s Mars Express has spotted a rare case of a crater once filled by a lake, revealed by the presence of a delta. The delta is an ancient fan-shaped deposit of dark sediments, laid down in water. It is a reminder of Mars’ past, wetter climate.
The delta is in the Eberswalde crater, in the southern highlands of Mars. The 65 km-diameter crater is visible as a semi-circle on the right of the image and was formed more than 3.7 billion years ago when an asteroid hit the planet.”

Holden crater is 140 km across, filling the left side of the image, while to the right is the remaining part of Eberswalde crater, with a diameter of about 65 km. They are located in the southern highlands of Mars. North is to the right of the image. The image was acquired by Mars Express at approximately 25°S / 326°E during orbit 7208 on 15 August 2009. The images have a ground resolution of about 22 m per pixel. 


Holden crater is 140 km across and fills the left part of the image, while to the right is the remaining part of Eberswalde crater, with a diameter of about 65 km. They are located in the southern highlands of Mars. The image was acquired by Mars Express around 25°S / 326°E during orbit 7208 on 15 August 2009. The images have a ground resolution of about 22 m per pixel. The image was derived from the nadir channel, which provides the highest detail of all the channels. North is to the right. 


Credits: ESA/DLR/FU Berlin (G. Neukum)

 Holden crater is 140 km across and fills the left part of the image, while to the right is the remaining part of Eberswalde crater, with a diameter of about 65 km. They are located in the southern highlands of Mars. The image was acquired by Mars Express around 25°S / 326°E during orbit 7208 on 15 August 2009. The images have a ground resolution of about 22 m per pixel. The image was derived from the nadir channel, which provides the highest detail of all the channels. North is to the right. 


Eberswalde crater on Mars formed more than 3.7 billion years ago. The rim of the crater is intact only in the north-eastern part. The rest has been buried by ejecta from the larger, more recent Holden impact crater nearby. The image was acquired by Mars Express around 25°S / 326°E during orbit 7208 on 15 August 2009. The images have a ground resolution of about 22 m per pixel. 



Tags: